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Sixth seed Andy Roddick (pictured) improved to 8-1 lifetime against American compatriot Mardy Fish with a 6-1, 6-4 victory Tuesday to become the first player into the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, an ATP Masters Series event held in Rome.
Roddick looked confident in his first ATP clay-court tournament of the year, striking four aces and winning 71 per cent of service points for victory in 69 minutes. The World No. 6 is making his seventh appearance at the Foro Italico, where his best performance came on debut in 2002 when he reached the semifinals (l. to Haas).
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The two-time titlist at San Jose (d. Stepanek) and Dubai (d. Lopez) improves to 22-4 on the season and now has to wait for his third round opponent, which could potentially be No. 10 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France.
Fish, who reached the ATP Masters Series Indian Wells final in March (l. to Djokovic), won 12 points in the first set against Roddick as any hope of a first career win since Delray Beach in 2003 quickly went away. The 26-year-old drops to 16-9 on the season and 13-28 lifetime against Top 10 opponents.
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In first round action, Spanish No. 14 seed Tommy Robredo beat Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina for the third time in four meetings at an ATP Masters Series event with a 6-4, 6-1 win in one hour and 20 minutes. Valencia semifinalist Robredo improves to 12-9 on the season and will next face Nicolas Mahut of France, the World No. 44 who won their last meeting at Rotterdam in February.
Another Spaniard, Juan Carlos Ferrero (pictured right), who clinched the 2003 Roland Garros title, will attempt to beat three-time defending Roland Garros and Rome champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since ATP Masters Series Cincinnati in the second round. Ferrero overcame Nicolas Kiefer for the second time in 2008, after a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 win in two hours and 30 minutes. Former World No. 1 Ferrero also beat Kiefer in the Australian Open first round in January. Argentine Jose Acasuso fared better than Chela when he recorded a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dmitry Tursunov of Russia, who drops to a career mark of 13-21 on clay courts. Since capturing his fourth career ATP title at Sydney in January (d. Guccione), Tursunov has experienced four first round exits. World No. 41 and Buenos Aires finalist Acasuso, who reached the Rome third round last year (l. to Berdych), improves to 14-12 and will next challenge Peruvian qualifier Luis Horna, who knocked out No. 9 seed Richard Gasquet Monday.
Last year's semifinalist and local favorite Filippo Volandri enjoyed a short stay on his eighth straight appearance in Rome. Ecuadorian qualifier and former World No. 6 Nicolas Lapentti beat Volandri for the first time since May 2004 with a 7-6(6), 2-6, 6-2 win in two hours and 33 minutes on Stadio Pietrangeli. Volandri, who lost to Fernando Gonzalez in last year's semifinals, served six double faults in total. Lapentti is appearing at the event for the first time in four years.
Lapentti will next face Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who defeated 11th-seeded compatriot Carlos Moya for the first time in six career meetings, 6-3, 6-4. Verdasco is making his fourth career appearance in Rome and reached the quarterfinals in his event debut in 2004. Moya has now lost four straight matches in Rome since hoisting the trophy in 2004. He has also lost in the opening round three weeks in a row.
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Tournament Profile | International TV Schedule
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